Otto wessell



(No Model.)

0,. WESSELL, A. NICKEL, & R. GROSS.

PIANO FORTE DAMPER.

No. 312,776. Patented Feb. 24, 1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO \VESSELL, ADAM NICKEL, AND RUDOLPH GROSS, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

PIANO-FORTE DAMPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,776, dated February 24,1885.

Application filed April 5, 1884.

T at whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that we, OTTO VESSELL, ADAM NrcKEL, and RUDOLPH Guess, all of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful lmprovementin Piano-Dampers, of which'the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to piano-dampers in which the wood block which receives the damper-lever through it has inserted in it a nut of metal, rawl'iide, or other material, with which engages the setscrew employed to secure the block upon the damper-lever. Such a combination of parts is shown and de- I5 scribed in our United States Letters Patent No. 295,317, and dated March 18, 1884, and is very desirable, as it enables the dampen lever to be inserted through the block in a direction transverse to the grain of the wood, while the nut affords a hold for the screw which the latter could not have if inserted in the block lengthwise of its grain and the nut were not used. In some cases, however, and more especially if the block is of cylindric form, with the damper-lever inserted transversely through it, the set-screw, if tightened very Strongly against the shank, might cause the block to split behind the nut, in which case the set-screw would no longer hold the block upon the damper-lever; and it is the object of our present invention to prevent splitting of the block at the end at which the screw is inserted and behind the nut.

The invention therefore consists in the combination, with a damper-lever and a block re ceiving said lever through it in a direction transverse to the grain of the wood, of a nut inserted into the block, a set-screw engaging with the nut and bearing against the lever, and a cap or ferrule applied to that end of the block at which the screw is inserted, all as more fully hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a damper-lever and block embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the block ina plane transverse to the lever, and Fig. 3 is a side view of a damperlever and a sectional view of a block embodying our invention in a slightly-modified form.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates the main portion or butt of the damper-lever, which is pivoted at a to the 5 5 flange B; and A designates the wire portion (No model.)

of the lever, on which the block O is fitted. The lever A extends through the block O in a direction transverse to the grain of the wood, and the block, as here shown, is of cylindric form. The block is secured upon the lever by a set-screw, D, which is inserted at one end thereof in a direction transverse to the lever, and which engages witha nut, E, inserted in the block in a direction transverse to the grain. This nut E may consist of a plug or piece of lead or other metal, of rawhide, of apiece of wood separate from and inserted into the block, or of any other material which will adequately hold the screw D engaging with it.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the nut is of such size and so placed as to receive the screw D directly through it, and we consider this most desirable; but in some cases the nut E may consist of asnialler pieceinserted through the block, and with one side of which the screw D e11- gages, as shown in Fig. 3. If the screw D is tightened strongly against the lever A, there is a possibility of the block Osplitting behind the nut at the end at which the screw is inset-ted; and to prevent this we apply to that end of the block a cap or ferrule, F, which may be of brass or other metal, and which is driven or forced upon the end of the block, as shown in all figures of the drawings. The liability of the block splitting behind the nut is lessened by making the block longer, so that the nut is farther from the end; but this necessitates a longer screw, D, and by the use of the cap or ferrule we are enabled to make the block short and of a length behind the nut, which would beimpracticable if the cap or ferrule were not used.

hat we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination, with a damper-lever and a block receiving said lever through it inadirect-ion transverse to the grain of the wood, of a nut inserted into the block, a set-screw engaging with said nut and bearing against the 0 lever, and a cap or ferrule applied to that end of the block at which the screw is inserted, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

OTTO WESSELL. ADAM NICKEL. RUDOLPH GROSS. Vi tnesses:

FEEDK. TIAYNES, llIATTHEW PoLLooK. 

